Ice scraper/brush with cover

Abstract

An ice scraper blade and/or brush mounted to a handle which has an anatomically designed grip. Attached to the handle is a cover to protect the user's hand from snow, ice, water, and cold. The cover has a sleeve with a first side made of waterproof fabric and a second side which is insulated with a suitable thermo-insulating fabric. In a first position of the cover, the first side of the sleeve is exposed to the outside for protecting the user's hand against the elements. In a second position of the cover, the sleeve is reversed so that the first side of the sleeve is on the inside, for enclosing ice, water and snow that may be adhered to the ice scraper blade and/or brush. The cover is also provided with a fastening arrangement that is placed at the second end of the sleeve, which prevents entering of snow and ice into the cover in the first position, and which contains the ice, water and snow inside the cover in the second position.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An ice scraper/brush comprising:
 an elongate handle having opposed first and second ends with a grip extending from the second end, a scraper blade extending from the first end of the handle and extending across the axis of the handle, and an elongate brush extending along the handle axis between the scraper and the grip comprising a plurality of bristles extending transversely with respect to the handle axis, said brush being at a location along the handle axis defined between the scraper blade and the grip; 
 a sleeve-shaped cover having a first end attached to the handle at a point between the grip and the blade and brush, 
 the cover being configured and sized to be reversible between a first position enclosing the grip and a hand of a user holding the grip, and a second position exposing the grip and enclosing the blade and brush; and 
 wherein the cover further comprises a fastening arrangement configured for tightening around the user's hand in the first position, and for tightening around the scraper and brush in the second position, to protect the user's hand in the first position, and to substantially seal around the blade and brush in the second position. 
 
     
     
       2. An ice scraper/brush according to  claim 1 , wherein a first side of the cover is made out of waterproof material and a second side of the cover comprises a thermo-insulating material. 
     
     
       3. The device of  claim 2 , wherein in the second position, the waterproof material is disposed on the inside of the cover for a watertight enclosure of the ice scraper/brush. 
     
     
       4. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the fastening arrangement comprises a drawstring. 
     
     
       5. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the fastening arrangement comprises a hook-and-loop fastener. 
     
     
       6. A method of cleaning ice or snow from an object, comprising the steps of:
 providing an ice scraper/brush according to  claim 1 ; 
 covering a hand of the user with the sleeve-shaped cover; 
 cleaning the ice or snow with said blade and brush; and then 
 reversing the cover between the first position enclosing the grip and the user's hand holding the grip, and the second position exposing the grip and enclosing the blade and brush, 
 further comprising tightening the cover around the user's hand to protect the user's hand in the first position, and tightening the cover around the scraper and brush to substantially seal the scraper and brush in the second position, using the fastening arrangement. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein a first side of the cover is made out of waterproof material and a second side of the cover comprises a thermo-insulating material. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein in the second position, the waterproof material is disposed on the inside of the cover for a watertight enclosure of the scraper and brush. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the fastening arrangement comprises a drawstring. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the fastening arrangement comprises a hook-and-loop fastener.